Heterogeneous network partition in TDD beyond radio frame

ABSTRACT

Maintaining uplink hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) compatibility with extended radio frames includes partitioning subframe groups over an extended radio frame having a length of time greater than a time defined for a single radio frame. User equipment (UE) suspends PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel) retransmission in the extended radio frame, in accordance with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timing of a subframe group assigned to the UE.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/325,193 entitled SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR MAINTAINING UPLINK HYBRID AUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST (HARQ)COMPATIBILITY WITH EXTENDED RADIO FRAMES, filed on Apr. 16, 2010, thedisclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wirelesscommunication systems, and more particularly to maintaining uplinkhybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) compatibility with extended radioframes.

2. Background

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide variouscommunication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging,broadcast, etc. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networkscapable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available networkresources. Examples of such multiple-access networks include CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks,Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA)networks.

A wireless communication network may include a number of base stationsthat can support communication for a number of user equipments (UEs). AUE may communicate with a base station via the downlink and uplink. Thedownlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from thebase station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to thecommunication link from the UE to the base station.

A base station may transmit data and control information on the downlinkto a UE and/or may receive data and control information on the uplinkfrom the UE. On the downlink, a transmission from the base station mayencounter interference due to transmissions from neighbor base stationsor from other wireless radio frequency (RF) transmitters. On the uplink,a transmission from the UE may encounter interference from uplinktransmissions of other UEs communicating with the neighbor base stationsor from other wireless RF transmitters. This interference may degradeperformance on both the downlink and uplink.

As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, thepossibilities of interference and congested networks grows with more UEsaccessing the long-range wireless communication networks and moreshort-range wireless systems being deployed in communities. Research anddevelopment continue to advance the UMTS technologies not only to meetthe growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance andenhance the user experience with mobile communications.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a method of wireless communication is disclosed. Themethod includes partitioning subframe groups over an extended radioframe. The extended radio frame has a length of time greater than a timedefined for a single radio frame. User equipment suspends PUSCH(physical uplink shared channel) retransmission in the extended radioframe, in accordance with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timingof a subframe group assigned to the UE.

Another aspect discloses a method of wireless communication wherefrequency division multiplexing (FDM) channel information is received,at a user equipment (UE) transmitted in a data region of an extendedradio frame or a multiple broadcast multimedia services single frequencynetwork (MBSFN) subframe within the extended radio frame. The extendedradio frame has a length of time greater than a time defined for asingle radio frame. A PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel) isretransmitted in accordance with the received FDM channel information,and occurs in accordance with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)timing within the extended radio frame.

Another aspect discloses a system for wireless communication having amemory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. Theprocessor(s) is configured to partition subframe groups over an extendedradio frame. The extended radio frame has a length of time greater thana time defined for a single radio frame. The processor is configured tosuspend PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel) retransmission in theextended radio frame, in accordance with hybrid automatic repeat request(HARQ) timing of a subframe group assigned to the UE.

In another aspect, a system for wireless communication having a memoryand at least one processor coupled to the memory is disclosed. Theprocessor(s) is configured to receive frequency division multiplexing(FDM) channel information, at a user equipment (UE), transmitted in adata region of an extended radio frame or a multiple broadcastmultimedia services single frequency network (MBSFN) subframe within theextended radio frame. The extended radio frame has a length of timegreater than a time defined for a single radio frame. The processorretransmits a PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel) in accordance withthe received FDM channel information. The retransmission occurs inaccordance with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timing within theextended radio frame.

In yet another aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includesmeans for partitioning subframe groups over an extended radio frame,where the extended radio frame has a length of time greater than a timedefined for a single radio frame. The apparatus includes a means forsuspending, by a user equipment (UE), PUSCH (physical uplink sharedchannel) retransmission in the extended radio frame, in accordance withhybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timing of a subframe groupassigned to the UE.

In still another aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatusincludes means for receiving frequency division multiplexing (FDM)channel information, at a user equipment (UE), where the channelinformation is transmitted in a data region of an extended radio frameor a multiple broadcast multimedia services single frequency network(MBSFN) subframe within the extended radio frame. The extended radioframe has a length of time greater than a time defined for a singleradio frame. The apparatus includes a means for retransmitting a PUSCH(physical uplink shared channel) in accordance with the received FDMchannel information. The retransmitting means occurs in accordance withhybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timing within the extended radioframe.

In another aspect, a computer program product for wirelesscommunications in a wireless network is disclosed. The computer readablemedium has program code recorded thereon which, when executed by one ormore processors, cause the processor(s) to perform the operation ofpartitioning subframe groups over an extended radio frame. The extendedradio frame has a length of time greater than a time defined for asingle radio frame. The program code also causes the processor(s) tosuspend, by a user equipment (UE), PUSCH (physical uplink sharedchannel) retransmission in the extended radio frame, in accordance withhybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timing of a subframe groupassigned to the UE.

Another aspect discloses a computer program product for wirelesscommunications in a wireless network. The computer readable medium hasprogram code recorded thereon which, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the processor(s) to perform the operation of receivingfrequency division multiplexing (FDM) channel information, at a userequipment (UE), transmitted in a data region of an extended radio frameor a multiple broadcast multimedia services single frequency network(MBSFN) subframe within the extended radio frame. The extended radioframe has a length of time greater than a time defined for a singleradio frame. The program code also causes the processor(s) to retransmita PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel) in accordance with the receivedFDM channel information. The retransmission occurs in accordance withhybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timing within the extended radioframe.

This has outlined, rather broadly, the features and technical advantagesof the present disclosure in order that the detailed description thatfollows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages ofthe disclosure will be described below. It should be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that this disclosure may be readily utilized asa basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out thesame purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized bythose skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the teachings of the disclosure as set forth in the appendedclaims. The novel features, which are believed to be characteristic ofthe disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation,together with further objects and advantages, will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, thateach of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration anddescription only and is not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features, nature, and advantages of the present disclosure willbecome more apparent from the detailed description set forth below whentaken in conjunction with the drawings in which like referencecharacters identify correspondingly throughout.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of atelecommunications system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a downlinkframe structure in a telecommunications system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example framestructure in uplink communications.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a design of a basestation/eNodeB and a UE configured according to one aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating adaptive resourcepartitioning in a heterogeneous network according to one aspect of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6A illustrates an example of the downlink and uplink HARQ processesover an extended frame.

FIG. 6B illustrates an example of an extended uplink frame.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a method for maintaining uplinkHARQ compatibility with extended radio frames.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with theappended drawings, is intended as a description of variousconfigurations and is not intended to represent the only configurationsin which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detaileddescription includes specific details for the purpose of providing athorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may bepracticed without these specific details. In some instances, well-knownstructures and components are shown in block diagram form in order toavoid obscuring such concepts.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunication networks such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, FrequencyDivision Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA)networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, etc. The terms“networks” and “systems” are often used interchangeably. A CDMA networkmay implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial RadioAccess (UTRA), CDMA2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) andLow Chip Rate (LCR). CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856standards. A TDMA network may implement a radio technology such asGlobal System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network mayimplement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11,IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM®, etc. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM arepart of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). Long TermEvolution (LTE) is an upcoming release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA,E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documents from anorganization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP). CDMA2000is described in documents from an organization named “3rd GenerationPartnership Project 2” (3GPP2). These various radio technologies andstandards are known in the art. For clarity, certain aspects of thetechniques are described below for LTE, and LTE terminology is used inmuch of the description below.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunication networks such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA andother networks. The terms “network” and “system” are often usedinterchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio technology, suchas Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), TelecommunicationsIndustry Association's (TIA's) CDMA2000®, and the like. The UTRAtechnology includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA.The CDMA2000® technology includes the IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856standards from the Electronics Industry Alliance (EIA) and TIA. A TDMAnetwork may implement a radio technology, such as Global System forMobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may implement a radiotechnology, such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB),IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, andthe like. The UTRA and E-UTRA technologies are part of Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) andLTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are newer releases of the UMTS that use E-UTRA.UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and GSM are described in documents froman organization called the “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP).CDMA2000® and UMB are described in documents from an organization calledthe “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). The techniquesdescribed herein may be used for the wireless networks and radio accesstechnologies mentioned above, as well as other wireless networks andradio access technologies. For clarity, certain aspects of thetechniques are described below for LTE or LTE-A (together referred to inthe alternative as “LTE/-A”) and use such LTE/-A terminology in much ofthe description below.

FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication network 100, which may be an LTE-Anetwork. The wireless network 100 includes a number of evolved node Bs(eNodeBs) 110 and other network entities. An eNodeB may be a stationthat communicates with the UEs and may also be referred to as a basestation, a node B, an access point, and the like. Each eNodeB 110 mayprovide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to this particular geographic coveragearea of an eNodeB and/or an eNodeB subsystem serving the coverage area,depending on the context in which the term is used.

An eNodeB may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a picocell, a femto cell, and/or other types of cell. A macro cell generallycovers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers inradius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with servicesubscriptions with the network provider. A pico cell would generallycover a relatively smaller geographic area and may allow unrestrictedaccess by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. Afemto cell would also generally cover a relatively small geographic area(e.g., a home) and, in addition to unrestricted access, may also providerestricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell(e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs for users in thehome, and the like). An eNodeB for a macro cell may be referred to as amacro eNodeB. An eNodeB for a pico cell may be referred to as a picoeNodeB. And, an eNodeB for a femto cell may be referred to as a femtoeNodeB or a home eNodeB. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the eNodeBs 110a, 110 b and 110 c are macro eNodeBs for the macro cells 102 a, 102 band 102 c, respectively. The eNodeB 110 x is a pico eNodeB for a picocell 102 x. And, the eNodeBs 110 y and 110 z are femto eNodeBs for thefemto cells 102 y and 102 z, respectively. An eNodeB may support one ormultiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells.

The wireless network 100 may also include relay stations. A relaystation is a station that receives a transmission of data and/or otherinformation from an upstream station (e.g., an eNodeB or a UE) and sendsa transmission of the data and/or other information to a downstreamstation (e.g., a UE or an eNodeB). A relay station may also be a UE thatrelays transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown in FIG. 1, arelay station 110 r may communicate with the eNodeB 110 a and a UE 120 rin order to facilitate communication between the eNodeB 110 a and the UE120 r. A relay station may also be referred to as a relay eNodeB, arelay, etc.

The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includeseNodeBs of different types, e.g., macro eNodeBs, pico eNodeBs, femtoeNodeBs, relays, etc. These different types of eNodeBs may havedifferent transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and differentimpact on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, macroeNodeBs may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 20 Watts) whereaspico eNodeBs, femto eNodeBs and relays may have a lower transmit powerlevel (e.g., 1 Watt).

The wireless network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronousoperation. For synchronous operation, the eNodeBs may have similar frametiming, and transmissions from different eNodeBs may be approximatelyaligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the eNodeBs may havedifferent frame timing, and transmissions from different eNodeBs may notbe aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used foreither synchronous or asynchronous operations.

In one aspect, the wireless network 100 may support Frequency DivisionDuplex (FDD) or Time Division Duplex (TDD) modes of operation. Thetechniques described herein may be used for either FDD or TDD mode ofoperation.

A network controller 130 may couple to a set of eNodeBs 110 and providecoordination and control for these eNodeBs 110. The network controller130 may communicate with the eNodeBs 110 via a backhaul 132. The eNodeBs110 may also communicate with one another, e.g., directly or indirectlyvia a wireless backhaul 134 or a wireline backhaul.

The UEs 120 are dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and eachUE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also be referred to as aterminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, or the like. AUE may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), awireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, alaptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station,or the like. A UE may be able to communicate with macro eNodeBs, picoeNodeBs, femto eNodeBs, relays, and the like. In FIG. 1, a solid linewith double arrows indicates desired transmissions between a UE and aserving eNodeB, which is an eNodeB designated to serve the UE on thedownlink and/or uplink. A dashed line with double arrows indicatesinterfering transmissions between a UE and an eNodeB.

LTE utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on thedownlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) onthe uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple(K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to astones, bins, or the like. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. Ingeneral, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDMand in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacentsubcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may bedependent on the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing of thesubcarriers may be 15 kHz and the minimum resource allocation (called a‘resource block’) may be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Consequently, thenominal FFT size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024 or 2048 for acorresponding system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 or 20 megahertz(MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned intosub-bands. For example, a sub-band may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resourceblocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 sub-bands for a correspondingsystem bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 or 20 MHz, respectively.

FIG. 2 shows a downlink FDD frame structure used in LTE/-A. Thetransmission timeline for the downlink may be partitioned into units ofradio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g.,10 milliseconds (ms)) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes withindices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include two slots. Each radioframe may thus include 20 slots with indices of 0 through 19. Each slotmay include L symbol periods, e.g., 7 symbol periods for a normal cyclicprefix (as shown in FIG. 2) or 6 symbol periods for an extended cyclicprefix. The 2L symbol periods in each subframe may be assigned indicesof 0 through 2L−1. The available time frequency resources may bepartitioned into resource blocks. Each resource block may cover Nsubcarriers (e.g., 12 subcarriers) in one slot.

In LTE, an eNodeB may send a primary synchronization signal (PSC or PSS)and a secondary synchronization signal (SSC or SSS) for each cell in theeNodeB. For FDD mode of operation, the primary and secondarysynchronization signals may be sent in symbol periods 6 and 5,respectively, in each of subframes 0 and 5 of each radio frame with thenormal cyclic prefix, as shown in FIG. 2. The synchronization signalsmay be used by UEs for cell detection and acquisition. For FDD mode ofoperation, the eNodeB may send a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) insymbol periods 0 to 3 in slot 1 of subframe 0. The PBCH may carrycertain system information.

The eNodeB may send a Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH)in the first symbol period of each subframe, as seen in FIG. 2. ThePCFICH may convey the number of symbol periods (M) used for controlchannels, where M may be equal to 1, 2 or 3 and may change from subframeto subframe. M may also be equal to 4 for a small system bandwidth,e.g., with less than 10 resource blocks. In the example shown in FIG. 2,M=3. The eNodeB may send a Physical HARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH) and aPhysical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in the first M symbol periodsof each subframe. The PDCCH and PHICH are also included in the firstthree symbol periods in the example shown in FIG. 2. The PHICH may carryinformation to support hybrid automatic retransmission (HARQ). The PDCCHmay carry information on uplink and downlink resource allocation for UEsand power control information for uplink channels. The eNodeB may send aPhysical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in the remaining symbol periodsof each subframe. The PDSCH may carry data for UEs scheduled for datatransmission on the downlink.

The eNodeB may send the PSC, SSC and PBCH in the center 1.08 MHz of thesystem bandwidth used by the eNodeB. The eNodeB may send the PCFICH andPHICH across the entire system bandwidth in each symbol period in whichthese channels are sent. The eNodeB may send the PDCCH to groups of UEsin certain portions of the system bandwidth. The eNodeB may send thePDSCH to groups of UEs in specific portions of the system bandwidth. TheeNodeB may send the PSC, SSC, PBCH, PCFICH and PHICH in a broadcastmanner to all UEs, may send the PDCCH in a unicast manner to specificUEs, and may also send the PDSCH in a unicast manner to specific UEs.

A number of resource elements may be available in each symbol period.Each resource element may cover one subcarrier in one symbol period andmay be used to send one modulation symbol, which may be a real orcomplex value. For symbols that are used for control channels, theresource elements not used for a reference signal in each symbol periodmay be arranged into resource element groups (REGs). Each REG mayinclude four resource elements in one symbol period. The PCFICH mayoccupy four REGs, which may be spaced approximately equally acrossfrequency, in symbol period 0. The PHICH may occupy three REGs, whichmay be spread across frequency, in one or more configurable symbolperiods. For example, the three REGs for the PHICH may all belong insymbol period 0 or may be spread in symbol periods 0, 1 and 2. The PDCCHmay occupy 9, 18, 36 or 72 REGs, which may be selected from theavailable REGs, in the first M symbol periods. Only certain combinationsof REGs may be allowed for the PDCCH.

A UE may know the specific REGs used for the PHICH and the PCFICH. TheUE may search different combinations of REGs for the PDCCH. The numberof combinations to search is typically less than the number of allowedcombinations for all UEs in the PDCCH. An eNodeB may send the PDCCH tothe UE in any of the combinations that the UE will search.

A UE may be within the coverage of multiple eNodeBs. One of theseeNodeBs may be selected to serve the UE. The serving eNodeB may beselected based on various criteria such as received power, path loss,signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), etc.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an exemplary FDD andTDD (non-special subframe only) subframe structure in uplink long termevolution (LTE) communications. The available resource blocks (RBs) forthe uplink may be partitioned into a data section and a control section.The control section may be formed at the two edges of the systembandwidth and may have a configurable size. The resource blocks in thecontrol section may be assigned to UEs for transmission of controlinformation. The data section may include all resource blocks notincluded in the control section. The design in FIG. 3 results in thedata section including contiguous subcarriers, which may allow a singleUE to be assigned all of the contiguous subcarriers in the data section.

A UE may be assigned resource blocks in the control section to transmitcontrol information to an eNodeB. The UE may also be assigned resourceblocks in the data section to transmit data to the eNode B. The UE maytransmit control information in a Physical Uplink Control Channel(PUCCH) on the assigned resource blocks in the control section. The UEmay transmit only data or both data and control information in aPhysical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) on the assigned resource blocksin the data section. An uplink transmission may span both slots of asubframe and may hop across frequency as shown in FIG. 3. According toone aspect, in relaxed single carrier operation, parallel channels maybe transmitted on the UL resources. For example, a control and a datachannel, parallel control channels, and parallel data channels may betransmitted by a UE.

In addition to sending PHICH and PDCCH in the control section of eachsubframe, i.e., the first symbol period of each subframe, the LTE-A mayalso transmit these control-oriented channels in the data portions ofeach subframe as well. As shown in FIG. 2, these new control designsutilizing the data region, e.g., the Relay-Physical Downlink ControlChannel (R-PDCCH) and Relay-Physical HARQ Indicator Channel (R-PHICH)are included in the later symbol periods of each subframe. The R-PDCCHis a new type of control channel utilizing the data region originallydeveloped in the context of half-duplex relay operation. Different fromlegacy PDCCH and PHICH, which occupy the first several control symbolsin one subframe, R-PDCCH and R-PHICH are mapped to resource elements(REs) originally designated as the data region. The new control channelmay be in the form of Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), TimeDivision Multiplexing (TDM), or a combination of FDM and TDM.

The PSC, SSC, CRS, PBCH, PUCCH, PUSCH, and other such signals andchannels used in LTE/-A are described in 3GPP TS 36.211, entitled“Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical Channelsand Modulation,” which is publicly available.

Conventionally in the time domain of LTE there is a radio frame that is10 ms long and has 10 subframes of 1 ms each. Every subframe may havetwo slots where each slot is 0.5 ms. The subcarrier spacing in thefrequency domain is 15 kHz. Twelve of these subcarriers together (perslot) is called a resource block so one resource block is 180 kHz. Sixresource blocks fit in a carrier of 1.4 MHz, and 100 resource block fitin a carrier of 20 MHz.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a design of a base station/eNodeB 110and a UE 120, which may be one of the base stations/eNodeBs and one ofthe UEs in FIG. 1. The base station 110 may be the macro eNodeB 110 c inFIG. 1, and the UE 120 may be the UE 120 y. The base station 110 mayalso be a base station of some other type. The base station 110 may beequipped with antennas 434 a through 434 t, and the UE 120 may beequipped with antennas 452 a through 452 r.

At the base station 110, a transmit processor 420 may receive data froma data source 412 and control information from a controller/processor440. The control information may be for the PBCH, PCFICH, PHICH, PDCCH,etc. The data may be for the PDSCH, etc. The processor 420 may process(e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtaindata symbols and control symbols, respectively. The processor 420 mayalso generate reference symbols, e.g., for the PSS, SSS, andcell-specific reference signal. A transmit (TX) multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) processor 430 may perform spatial processing(e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, and/or thereference symbols, if applicable, and may provide output symbol streamsto the modulators (MODs) 432 a through 432 t. Each modulator 432 mayprocess a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) toobtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 432 may further process(e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the outputsample stream to obtain a downlink signal. Downlink signals frommodulators 432 a through 432 t may be transmitted via the antennas 434 athrough 434 t, respectively.

At the UE 120, the antennas 452 a through 452 r may receive the downlinksignals from the base station 110 and may provide received signals tothe demodulators (DEMODs) 454 a through 454 r, respectively. Eachdemodulator 454 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, anddigitize) a respective received signal to obtain input samples. Eachdemodulator 454 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM,etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 456 may obtainreceived symbols from all the demodulators 454 a through 454 r, performMIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and providedetected symbols. A receive processor 458 may process (e.g., demodulate,deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data forthe UE 120 to a data sink 460, and provide decoded control informationto a controller/processor 480.

On the uplink, at the UE 120, a transmit processor 464 may receive andprocess data (e.g., for the PUSCH) from a data source 462 and controlinformation (e.g., for the PUCCH) from the controller/processor 480. Theprocessor 464 may also generate reference symbols for a referencesignal. The symbols from the transmit processor 464 may be precoded by aTX MIMO processor 466 if applicable, further processed by the modulators454 a through 454 r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to thebase station 110. At the base station 110, the uplink signals from theUE 120 may be received by the antennas 434, processed by thedemodulators 432, detected by a MIMO detector 436 if applicable, andfurther processed by a receive processor 438 to obtain decoded data andcontrol information sent by the UE 120. The processor 438 may providethe decoded data to a data sink 439 and the decoded control informationto the controller/processor 440. The base station 110 can send messagesto other base stations, for example, over an X2 interface 441.

The controllers/processors 440 and 480 may direct the operation at thebase station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. The processor 440 and/orother processors and modules at the base station 110 may perform ordirect the execution of various processes for the techniques describedherein. The processor 480 and/or other processors and modules at the UE120 may also perform or direct the execution of the functional blocksillustrated in FIGURE, and/or other processes for the techniquesdescribed herein. The memories 442 and 482 may store data and programcodes for the base station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. A scheduler444 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and/oruplink.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating TDM partitioning in aheterogeneous network. A first row of blocks illustrate subframeassignments for a femto eNodeB, and a second row of blocks illustratesubframe assignments for a macro eNodeB. Each of the eNodeBs has astatic protected subframe during which the other eNodeB has a staticprohibited subframe. For example, the femto eNodeB has a protectedsubframe (U subframe) in subframe 0 corresponding to a prohibitedsubframe (N subframe) in subframe 0. Likewise, the macro eNodeB has aprotected subframe (U subframe) in subframe 7 corresponding to aprohibited subframe (N subframe) in subframe 7. Subframes 1-6 aredynamically assigned as either protected subframes (AU), prohibitedsubframes (AN), and common subframes (AC). During the dynamicallyassigned common subframes (AC) in subframes 5 and 6, both the femtoeNodeB and the macro eNodeB may transmit data.

Protected subframes (such as U/AU subframes) have reduced interferenceand a high channel quality because aggressor eNodeBs are prohibited fromtransmitting. Prohibited subframes (such as N/AN subframes) have no datatransmission to allow victim eNodeBs to transmit data with lowinterference levels. Common subframes (such as C/AC subframes) have achannel quality dependent on the number of neighbor eNodeBs transmittingdata. For example, if neighbor eNodeBs are transmitting data on thecommon subframes, the channel quality of the common subframes may belower than the protected subframes. Channel quality on common subframesmay also be lower for extended boundary area (EBA) UEs strongly affectedby aggressor eNodeBs. An EBA UE may belong to a first eNodeB but also belocated in the coverage area of a second eNodeB. For example, a UEcommunicating with a macro eNodeB that is near the range limit of afemto eNodeB coverage is an EBA UE.

Another example interference management scheme that may be employed inLTE/-A is the slowly-adaptive interference management. Using thisapproach to interference management, resources are negotiated andallocated over time scales that are much larger than the schedulingintervals. The goal of the scheme is to find a combination of transmitpowers for all of the transmitting eNodeBs and UEs over all of the timeor frequency resources that maximizes the total utility of the network.“Utility” may be defined as a function of user data rates, delays ofquality of service (QoS) flows, and fairness metrics. Such an algorithmcan be computed by a central entity that has access to all of theinformation used for solving the optimization and has control over allof the transmitting entities, such as, for example, the networkcontroller 130 (FIG. 1). This central entity may not always be practicalor even desirable.

In deployments of heterogeneous networks, such as the wireless network100, a UE may operate in a dominant interference scenario in which theUE may observe high interference from one or more interfering eNodeBs. Adominant interference scenario may occur due to restricted association.For example, in FIG. 1, the UE 120 y may be close to the femto eNodeB110 y and may have high received power for the eNodeB 110 y. However,the UE 120 y may not be able to access the femto eNodeB 110 y due torestricted association and may then connect to the macro eNodeB 110 c(as shown in FIG. 1) or to the femto eNodeB 110 z also with lowerreceived power (not shown in FIG. 1). The UE 120 y may then observe highinterference from the femto eNodeB 110 y on the downlink and may alsocause high interference to the eNodeB 110 y on the uplink. Usingcoordinated interference management, the eNodeB 110 c and the femtoeNodeB 110 y may communicate over the backhaul 134 to negotiateresources. In the negotiation, the femto eNodeB 110 y agrees to ceasetransmission on one of its channel resources, such that the UE 120 ywill not experience as much interference from the femto eNodeB 110 y asit communicates with the eNodeB 110 c over that same channel.

In addition to the discrepancies in signal power observed at the UEs insuch a dominant interference scenario, timing delays of downlink signalsmay also be observed by the UEs, even in synchronous systems, because ofthe differing distances between the UEs and the multiple eNodeBs. TheeNodeBs in a synchronous system are presumptively synchronized acrossthe system. However, for example, considering a UE that is a distance of5 km from the macro eNodeB, the propagation delay of any downlinksignals received from that macro eNodeB would be delayed approximately16.67 μs (5 km÷3×108, i.e., the speed of light, ‘c’). Comparing thatdownlink signal from the macro eNodeB to the downlink signal from a muchcloser femto eNodeB, the timing difference could approach the level of atime-to-live (TTL) error.

Additionally, such timing difference may impact the interferencecancellation at the UE. Interference cancellation often uses crosscorrelation properties between a combination of multiple versions of thesame signal. By combining multiple copies of the same signal,interference may be more easily identified because, while there willlikely be interference on each copy of the signal, it will likely not bein the same location. Using the cross correlation of the combinedsignals, the actual signal portion may be determined and distinguishedfrom the interference, thus, allowing the interference to be canceled.

As discussed with reference to FIG. 5, TDD (time division duplex)uplink-downlink configurations may be partitioned in groups according topower classes of the eNodeB to avoid interference between the powerclasses. The number of partitioned groups that are supported may belimited to the particular implemented uplink-downlink configuration. Inparticular, the HARQ timeline may not support a desired number ofgroups. In existing TDD configuration 1, the subframes may be configuredinto the following four groups based on HARQ timing:

Group 1: 0/1/7 (DL subframe 0 and 1 and UL subframe 7);

Group 2: 5/6/2 (DL subframe 5 and 6 and UL subframe 2);

Group 3: 4/8 (DL subframe 4 and UL subframe 8); and

Group 4: 9/3 (DL subframe 9 and UL subframe 3).

Accordingly, with the above configuration, there are, at most, fourgroups available for partitioning, due to the designated HARQ timing. Inone example, an extended frame structure is employed to enable morepartition groups while still satisfying HARQ timing. Rather than sharinggroups among eNodeB classes and possibly experiencing interferencewithin the shared groups, enabling more groups can accommodate moreclasses of eNodeBs with less interference.

FIG. 6A illustrates an example of the downlink and uplink HARQ processesover an extended subframe structure, i.e., two 10 ms frames, N and N+1.In the example configuration 600 (TDD configuration 1), the eNode Btimeline 602, includes seven downlink HARQ processes, identified as HARQ0-6, in the two 10 ms frames. In the UE timeline 604, four uplink HARQprocesses are included over the two 10 ms frames, and are identified asHARQ 0-3. The example TDD configuration includes uplink (UL) subframes,downlink (DL) subframes and special subframes. Subframes 0, 4, 5 and 9are downlink subframes. Subframes 2, 3 7, and 8 are uplink subframes.Subframes 1 and 6 denote special subframes that include a downlinkperiod, a gap, and an uplink period.

In case more partition groups are desired, the radio frame is extendedso the downlink subframe can be partitioned with a longer partitionperiod. For example, in radio frame N: Group 1: 0/1/7; Group 2: 5/6/2;Group 3: 4/8; and Group 4: 9/3 can correspond to the first fourpartition groups. And in radio frame N+1: Group 5: 0/1/7; Group 6:5/6/2; Group 7: 4/8; and Group 8: 9/3 can correspond to four additionalpartition groups. Accordingly, in a 10 ms period in radio frame N, thereare four groups. Additionally, radio frame N+1 contains another fourgroups, thus totaling eight groups. By effectively employing an extendedframe over a 20 ms period (N and N+1), additional groups may besupported (e.g., 8 partition groups can be supported instead of only 4groups).

FIG. 6B illustrates an exemplary extended uplink (UL) timeline 611, thateffectively sums frames N and N+1 to provide a 20 ms frame. In thisexemplary illustration, the uplink HARQ processes for the second half ofthe extended frame (i.e., for frame N+1) are suspended. Thus, theseuplink HARQ processes can be used by another partition group. The uplinkHARQ processes may be suspended every other radio frame via a systeminformation block (SIB) configuration, or via acknowledgment (ACK)messages, as discussed further below.

In one example employing the extended radio frame and thereby supportingadditional groups (e.g., 8 groups in the above example), an adjustmentmay be implemented in certain examples of the present disclosure toremain compatible with the Release 8 UL HARQ timeline. For example, theUL HARQ processes can be suspended every other radio frame via thesystem information block (SIB) configuration. In another example, the ULHARQ is suspended every other radio frame via R-PHICH messages.

In other embodiments, no uplink HARQ suspension is performed. Forexample, if no uplink HARQ suspension is performed, the uplink HARQfollows R-PDCCH and R-PHICH. R-PHICH and R-PDCCH correspond to PHICH andPDCCH, respectively, but are transmitted in the PDSCH data region or ina multiple broadcast multimedia services single frequency network(MBSFN) type of subframe. Referring back to FIG. 2, the R-PDCCH andR-PHICH are transmitted in the PDSCH data region (in symbol periods 3-13shown for subframe 0). In certain embodiments, the R-PHICH and R-PDCCHare in FDM (frequency division multiplexing) form, rather than TDM form.

Various exemplary options for extending the frame time (and thus thenumber of groups supported) while maintaining the Release 8 uplink HARQtimeline are described below. In one example, the uplink HARQretransmissions (PUSCH) may be suspended every other radio frame via SIBconfiguration. In particular, an eNodeB may communicate SIBconfiguration to a group of UEs to instruct the UEs to suspend uplinkHARQ retransmission every other radio frame. In other words, the datachannel retransmissions (PUSCH) scheduled to be sent in an even radioframe are suspended, and are sent in the following odd radio frame.Similarly, retransmissions scheduled for an odd radio frame are skippedand delayed until the following (even) radio frame. An example of thisuplink HARQ suspension is illustrated in FIG. 6B.

In another example, uplink HARQ retransmission (PUSCH) is suspendedevery other radio frame via downlink acknowledgment (e.g., R-PHICH). Forexample, an eNodeB may communicate information to a UE in the R-PHICHtransmission that instructs the UE to suspend its uplink HARQtransmission every other radio frame. By transmitting an ACK in theR-PHICH, the UE will not retransmit in the next radio frame. Thus, theUE can be instructed to skip radio frames in this manner. Further, whenretransmission is appropriate (i.e., whether in the odd or even radioframe) the eNodeB can send a scheduling grant and a NACK to initiate theretransmission at the appropriate time.

R-PHICH can be used instead of PHICH because PHICH could be transmittedwithin a subframe belonging to another partition group. Because theR-PHICH supports FDM (frequency division multiplexing), differentpartition groups can be frequency multiplexed within an R-PHICH. Thus,particular groups can receive signaling, even though the R-PHICH is in asubframe designated for another group. Within this example, the R-PHICHis transmitted in accordance with Release 8 timing. An example of thisuplink HARQ suspension is illustrated in FIG. 6B.

In another example, no uplink HARQ transmission is suspended. Rather,downlink control information for the uplink HARQ is provided in eitherR-PDCCH alone, or R-PDCCH and R-PHICH. As mentioned above, R-PDCCH andR-PHICH are the PDCCH and PHICH, respectively, transmitted in the PDSCHdata region in one subframe or in the MBSFN type of subframe. The uplinkHARQ transmission follows receipt of the downlink control informationfor the uplink HARQ provided in either the R-PDDCH or the R-PDCCH andR-PHICH. The R-PDCCH and R-PHICH may be used to schedule the data. Thisallows the PDCCH and PHICH information to be transmitted in an FDMmanner (as R-PDCCH and R-PHICH in the PDSCH data region), instead ofbeing transmitted in a TDM manner (as the PDCCH and PHICH are defined inRelease 8). This allows for the information contained in the R-PDCCH andR-PHICH to be orthogonalized such that information may be carried formultiple different cells without interfering with each other.

While an example is discussed herein with reference to configuration 1of TDD, the concepts disclosed herein may likewise be employed forimplementing an extended frame and maintaining compatibility with adefined HARQ timeline for non-extended (i.e., originally-defined)frames, such as 10 ms frames in Release 8.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method 700 for maintaining uplink HARQcompatibility with extended radio frames. In block 710, a subframegroups are partitioned over extended radio frames. In block 712, PUSCHretransmissions are suspended in the extended radio frame in accordancewith HARQ timing of a subframe group assigned to the UE.

In one configuration, the eNodeB 110 (UE 120) is configured for wirelesscommunication including means for partitioning subframe groups over anextended radio frame. In one aspect, the partitioning means may be thescheduler 444 configured to perform the functions recited by thepartitioning means. The eNodeB 110 is also configured to include a meansfor suspending. In one aspect, the suspending means may be thecontroller/processor 480 configured to perform the functions recited bythe suspending means. In another aspect, the aforementioned means may bea module or any apparatus configured to perform the functions recited bythe aforementioned means.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronichardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have beendescribed above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performedwith a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Ageneral-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with thedisclosure herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a softwaremodule executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. Asoftware module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Anexemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that theprocessor can read information from, and write information to, thestorage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integralto the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in anASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, theprocessor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in auser terminal.

In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media may be any available media that can be accessed by ageneral purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carryor store desired program code means in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable anyperson skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Variousmodifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scopeof the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited tothe examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded thewidest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosedherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for wireless communication comprising:communicating, by a user equipment (UE), using an extended radio frame,the extended radio frame comprising a first radio frame that supports afirst set of uplink-downlink configurations and at least a portion of asecond radio frame that supports a second set of uplink-downlinkconfigurations, wherein the first set of uplink-downlink configurationsand the second set of uplink-downlink configurations are partitionedinto one or more subframe groups; and suspending, by the UE, PUSCH(physical uplink shared channel) transmission in at least one of thefirst radio frame or the second radio frame in the extended radio frame,wherein the PUSCH transmission is scheduled in accordance with hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) timing of a subframe group assigned tothe UE.
 2. The method of claim 1 in which the extended radio frame has alength of time of at least a sum total of time defined for twoconsecutive radio frames.
 3. The method of claim 1 in which thesuspending comprises suspending the PUSCH transmission in every otherconsecutive radio frame encompassed by the extended radio frame.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising receiving instructions at the UE toperform the suspending via system information block (SIB) configuration.5. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving instructions atthe UE to perform the suspending via downlink acknowledgment informationtransmitted in at least one data region of the extended radio frame. 6.The method of claim 5 in which the at least one data region comprises aR-PHICH (relay-physical HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) indicatorchannel (PHICH).
 7. The method of claim 5 in which the downlinkacknowledgment information transmitted in data regions intended for afirst subframe group is frequency multiplexed with downlinkacknowledgment information intended for a second subframe group.
 8. Themethod of claim 5 in which the at least one data region comprises aR-PDCCH (relay-physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)).
 9. The methodof claim 1 further comprising receiving instructions at the UE toperform the suspending via downlink acknowledgment informationtransmitted in MBSFN (multiple broadcast multimedia single frequencynetwork) subframe of the extended radio frame.
 10. A method for wirelesscommunication comprising: communicating, by a user equipment (UE), usingan extended radio frame, the extended radio frame comprising a firstradio frame that supports a first set of uplink-downlink configurationsand at least a portion of a second radio frame that supports a secondset of uplink-downlink configurations, wherein the first set ofuplink-downlink configurations and the second set of uplink-downlinkconfigurations are partitioned into one or more subframe groups;receiving frequency division multiplexing (FDM) channel information, atthe UE, transmitted in a shared data region of the extended radio frameor a multiple broadcast multimedia services single frequency network(MBSFN) subframe; and transmitting, by the UE, a PUSCH (physical uplinkshared channel) transmission in accordance with the received FDM channelinformation, the PUSCH transmission occurring in accordance with hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) timing within the extended radio frame.11. The method of claim 10, in which the FDM channel informationcomprises at least one of a physical HARQ (hybrid automatic repeatrequest) indicator channel (PHICH) information and physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) information.
 12. A system for wirelesscommunication, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupledto the memory, the at least one processor being configured: tocommunicate using an extended radio frame, the extended radio framecomprising a first radio frame that supports a first set ofuplink-downlink configurations and at least a portion of a second radioframe that supports a second set of uplink-downlink configurations,wherein the first set of uplink-downlink configurations and the secondset of uplink-downlink configurations are partitioned into one or moresubframe groups; and to suspend PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel)transmission in at least one of the first radio frame or the secondradio frame in the extended radio frame, wherein PUSCH transmission isscheduled in accordance with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)timing of a subframe group assigned to a user equipment (UE).
 13. Thesystem of claim 12 in which the extended radio frame has a length oftime of at least a sum total of time defined for two consecutive radioframes.
 14. The system of claim 12 in which the at least one processoris further configured to suspend the PUSCH transmission in every otherconsecutive radio frame encompassed by the extended radio frame.
 15. Thesystem of claim 12 in which the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to receive receiving instructions at the UE to perform thesuspending via system information block (SIB) configuration.
 16. Thesystem of claim 12 in which the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to receive instructions at the UE to perform the suspendingvia downlink acknowledgment information transmitted in at least one dataregion of the extended radio frame.
 17. The system of claim 16 in whichthe at least one data region comprises a R-PHICH (relay-physical HARQ(hybrid automatic repeat request) indicator channel (PHICH).
 18. Thesystem of claim 16 in which the downlink acknowledgment informationtransmitted in data regions intended for a first subframe group isfrequency multiplexed with downlink acknowledgment information intendedfor a second subframe group.
 19. The system of claim 16 in which the atleast one data region comprises a R-PDCCH (relay-physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH)).
 20. The system of claim 12 in which the atleast one processor is further configured to receive instructions at theUE to suspend via downlink acknowledgment information transmitted inMBSFN (multiple broadcast multimedia single frequency network) subframeof the extended radio frame.
 21. A system for wireless communication,comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory,the at least one processor being configured: to communicate using anextended radio frame, the extended radio frame comprising a first radioframe that supports a first set of uplink-downlink configurations and atleast a portion of a second radio frame that supports a second set ofuplink-downlink configurations, wherein the first set of uplink-downlinkconfigurations and the second set of uplink-downlink configurations arepartitioned into one or more subframe groups; to receive frequencydivision multiplexing (FDM) channel information, at a user equipment(UE), transmitted in a shared data region of the extended radio frame ora multiple broadcast multimedia services single frequency network(MBSFN) subframe; and to transmit, by the UE, a PUSCH (physical uplinkshared channel) transmission in accordance with the received FDM channelinformation, the PUSCH transmission occurring in accordance with hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) timing within the extended radio frame.22. The system of claim 21, in which the FDM channel informationcomprises at least one of a physical HARQ (hybrid automatic repeatrequest) indicator channel (PHICH) information and physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) information.
 23. An apparatus for wirelesscommunication, comprising: means for communicating, by a user equipment(UE), using an extended radio frame, the extended radio frame comprisinga first radio frame that supports a first set of uplink-downlinkconfigurations and at least a portion of a second radio frame thatsupports a second set of uplink-downlink configurations, wherein thefirst set of uplink-downlink configurations and the second set ofuplink-downlink configurations are partitioned into one or more subframegroups; and means for suspending, by the UE, PUSCH (physical uplinkshared channel) transmission in at least one of the first radio frame orthe second radio frame in the extended radio frame, wherein the PUSCHtransmission is scheduled in accordance with hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) timing of a subframe group assigned to the UE.
 24. Anapparatus for wireless communication, comprising: means forcommunicating, by a user equipment (UE), using an extended radio frame,the extended radio frame comprising a first radio frame that supports afirst set of uplink-downlink configurations and at least a portion of asecond radio frame that supports a second set of uplink-downlinkconfigurations, wherein the first set of uplink-downlink configurationsand the second set of uplink-downlink configurations are partitionedinto one or more subframe groups; means for receiving frequency divisionmultiplexing (FDM) channel information, at the UE, transmitted in ashared data region of the extended radio frame or a multiple broadcastmultimedia services single frequency network (MBSFN) subframe; and meansfor transmitting, by the UE, a PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel)transmission in accordance with the received FDM channel information,the PUSCH transmission occurring in accordance with hybrid automaticrepeat request (HARQ) timing within the extended radio frame.
 25. Acomputer program product for wireless communication in a wirelessnetwork, comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium havingprogram code recorded thereon, the program code comprising: program codeto communicate, by a user equipment (UE), using an extended radio frame,the extended radio frame comprising a first radio frame that supports afirst set of uplink-downlink configurations and at least a portion of asecond radio frame that supports a second set of uplink-downlinkconfigurations, wherein the first set of uplink-downlink configurationsand the second set of uplink-downlink configurations are partitionedinto one or more subframe groups; and program code to suspend, by theUE, PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel) transmission in at least oneof the first radio frame or the second radio frame in the extended radioframe, wherein the PUSCH transmission is scheduled in accordance withhybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timing of a subframe groupassigned to the UE.
 26. A computer program product for wirelesscommunication in a wireless network, comprising: a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, theprogram code comprising: program code to communicate, by a userequipment (UE), using an extended radio frame, the extended radio framecomprising a first radio frame that supports a first set ofuplink-downlink configurations and at least a portion of a second radioframe that supports a second set of uplink-downlink configurations,wherein the first set of uplink-downlink configurations and the secondset of uplink-downlink configurations are partitioned into one or moresubframe groups; program code to receive frequency division multiplexing(FDM) channel information, at the UE, transmitted in a shared dataregion of the extended radio frame or a multiple broadcast multimediaservices single frequency network (MBSFN) subframe; and program code totransmit, by the UE, a PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel)transmission in accordance with the received FDM channel information,the PUSCH transmission occurring in accordance with hybrid automaticrepeat request (HARQ) timing within the extended radio frame.